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GitHub Actions Workflow Builder - CI/CD YAML Generator

Build GitHub Actions CI/CD workflows visually. Configure triggers, Node.js version, package manager, and pipeline steps, then get a ready-to-use .yml file.

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Triggers

Pipeline steps

Generated YAML .github/workflows/ci.yml
name: CI

on:
  push:
    branches:
      - main
  pull_request:
    branches:
      - main

jobs:
  ci:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - name: Checkout
        uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Setup Node.js
        uses: actions/setup-node@v4
        with:
          node-version: '20'
          cache: 'npm'

      - name: Install dependencies
        run: npm ci

      - name: Lint
        run: npm run lint

      - name: Test
        run: npm run test

      - name: Build
        run: npm run build

What is GitHub Actions?

GitHub Actions is a CI/CD platform built into GitHub. Workflows are defined in YAML files stored in .github/workflows/. Each workflow consists of one or more jobs; each job runs on a runner (a virtual machine or container) and contains a series of steps.

Key concepts

  • Trigger (on:): what causes the workflow to run. Common triggers: push, pull_request, schedule, workflow_dispatch (manual).
  • Runner: the machine that executes the job. GitHub provides ubuntu-latest, windows-latest, macos-latest.
  • Step: a single task within a job. Steps can run shell commands (run:) or use pre-built actions (uses:).
  • Action: a reusable unit of code. Find community actions at github.com/marketplace.
  • Secrets: encrypted values stored in repository settings. Reference with ${ secrets.MY_SECRET }.

Minimal workflow example

on: [push]
jobs:
  build:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - run: echo "Hello, World!"

Trigger types reference

TriggerDescriptionCommon use case
pushOn every push to specified branchesRun tests on every commit
pull_requestOn PR open, synchronize, or closeCI checks before merging
scheduleCron-based scheduleNightly builds, dependency audits
workflow_dispatchManual trigger via UI or APIOn-demand deployments
releaseOn GitHub Release creationPublish packages to npm/PyPI

Secrets management

Store sensitive values (API keys, tokens, passwords) in Repository Settings -> Secrets and variables -> Actions. Reference them in workflows with ${{ secrets.MY_SECRET }}. Secrets are masked in logs; never print them directly. Organization-level secrets can be shared across multiple repositories.

Popular marketplace actions

ActionPurpose
actions/checkout@v4Check out repository code
actions/setup-node@v4Install Node.js
actions/cache@v4Cache dependencies (npm, pip, etc.)
docker/build-push-action@v5Build and push Docker images
peaceiris/actions-gh-pages@v3Deploy to GitHub Pages